Police report that an armed homeowner confronted protesters, some of them also armed.
An armed resident confronted protesters at his Portland, Oregon home late Saturday night. One person was killed, and five others were hurt.
According to police, some protesters were also armed. However, they did not specify whether there was gunfire from either side of the encounter.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, “The incident began with a confrontation between an armless homeowner and armed protesters.”
At 8 p.m., demonstrators gathered at Normandale Park to protest the shooting of Amir Locke by police in Minneapolis in early February during a “no knock” warrant raid.
Police said that a body of a girl or woman was discovered by responding police officers shortly after the gunfire broke out. They said that three women and two men were taken to hospital in unspecified condition.
Late Sunday, Mayor Ted Wheeler stated that Portland’s “collective sadness” and “frustration” over the shooting “fuels our commitment to do everything I can to reduce gun violence that is traumatizing the city.”
The police, refusing to acknowledge that violence occurred during a protest against violence in law enforcement, complained that witnesses hadn’t come forward.
According to the bureau, “Most people who were present at the scene fled without speaking with police.” “Detectives believe that a large number people witnessed the event or recorded it as it happened,” said the bureau.
Many of the same Black and progressive activists criticize Portland authorities for their biased policing. The American Civil Liberties Union claimed last year that Black suspects were overrepresented in police shootings, and that officers indiscriminately arrested demonstrators from the political left.
The police bureau has been historically used against progressive and left-leaning demonstrators, consistent with their biases as reflected by their lax enforcement towards violent far-right groups or militias,” the organization stated in a statement after large numbers of police critics were taken into custody during a demonstration.
Jo Anne Hardesty , Police Commissioner, tweeted Sunday regarding the overnight shooting. “While we still need more information, I can tell you that protesting for justice racial should not endanger those exercising their 1st Amendment rights.”
Multnomah County District attorney Mike Schmidt released a statement on Sunday, saying: “My heart goes to those who have lost a loved ones to this violence.” It doesn’t happen in a vacuum when someone decides to grab a gun to harm or threaten another person’s life. It shocks the entire community.”
He pledged to “diligently review the facts, evidence”, and bring to justice anyone involved in the violence.
